Well, I knew it would happen eventually… last month, Polaroid announced they will no longer be manufacturing instant film. Many artists are mourning because Polaroid film had some pretty unique properties, which I don’t think digital has managed to capture–yet.

I’m no luddite. I gave up 35mm film for my Canon EOS Digital SLR some time ago. And I used to shoot Super 16mm motion picture film, and traded that for HD video a long time ago, too. And in all honesty, I haven’t shot with a Polaroid in many years, either.

But over the decades that I’ve dabbled in photography, Polaroid put out some cool stuff. Among my favorites were the instant slide film (yes, instant slide film… it was pretty damn cool stuff) and the beloved SX-70 (I own several), which is even today one of the coolest cameras ever made. Sadly, Polaroid hasn’t made the SX-70/Time Zero stock for a couple of years now…

Things change, and digital cameras are capable of capturing truly amazing imagery. But for a camera nut like me, who was always attracted to photography partially because of the chemistry, equipment and science behind the craft, seeing the “old ways” go like this will always be just a touch melancholy.

Update:Save Polaroid is a group of artists and hobbyists who are trying to motivate some company to pick up where Polaroid is leaving off. If you love the medium, it’s worth checking out…